Concussion indicator

ABSTRACT

A concussion indicator that may easily be applied to a helmet is provided. The concussion indicator may visually or audibly provide indicators relating to impacts creating accelerations of the helmet that likely cause a concussion. In some embodiments, three separate indicators may be used within a single base; each indicator is configured to indicate at impacts relating to different concussion grades. A rear of the base is attachable to a surface such as an interior or exterior of a helmet. Upon a concussion triggering acceleration, the concussion indicator will indicate that a concussion is likely. This display may be seen or heard by observers if the indicator is on an exterior of the helmet, and by the user or someone who removes the user&#39;s helmet if it is on the inside of the helmet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to concussion indicatingdevices. More particularly the present invention relates to a devicethat may attach to a helmet and indicate three different levels ofconcussion severity.

2. Description of Related Art

There are many situations in which a helmet, hard-hat, or otherprotective headgear is essential for user safety. For example, many jobsare performed in hazardous areas requiring a hard hat for protection.For example, jobs include building or road construction, manufacturinginvolving hazardous machinery or materials, logging, and many others.

The challenge of preventing head injuries also extends to athletics.Participation in athletic activities is increasing at all age levels.All participants may be potentially exposed to physical harm as a resultof such participation. Physical harm to the head is more likely to occurin athletic events where collisions between participants frequentlyoccur (e.g., football, field hockey, lacrosse, ice hockey, and thelike). Approximately 300,000 athletes incur concussions in the UnitedStates each year. This may be a conservative estimate because many minorhead injuries and low grade concussions go unreported. Although mostconcussions occur in high-impact sports, athletes in low-impact sportsare not immune to mild traumatic brain injury.

Head injuries are caused by positive and negative acceleration forcesexperienced by the brain and may result from linear or rotationalaccelerations (or both). Both linear and rotational accelerations arelikely to be encountered by the head at impact, damaging neural andvascular elements of the brain.

At the school level, school authorities have become sensitive to therisk of injury to which student participants are exposed, as well as tothe liability of the school system when injury results. Greater emphasisis being placed on proper training and instruction to limit potentialinjuries. Some players engage in reckless behavior on the athletic fieldor do not appreciate the dangers to which they and others are subject bycertain types of impacts experienced in these athletic endeavors.Unfortunately, the use of mouth guards and helmets does not prevent allinjuries. One particularly troublesome problem is when a student athleteexperiences a head injury, such as a concussion, of undeterminedseverity even when wearing protective headgear. Physicians, trainers,and coaches utilize standard neurological examinations and cognitivequestioning to determine the relative severity of the impact and itseffect on the athlete. Return to play decisions can be stronglyinfluenced by parents and coaches who want a star player back on thefield.

The same problem arises in professional sports where the stakes are muchhigher for a team, where such a team loses a valuable player due to thepossibility of a severe head injury. Recent medical data suggests thatlateral and rotational forces applied to the head and neck area (forexample, flexion/extension, lateral flexion, and axial rotation) aremore responsible for axonal nerve damage than previously thought.Previous medical research had indicated that axially directed forces(such as spinal compression forces) were primarily responsible for suchinjuries.

Identifying the rate of acceleration that causes brain injury may assistin prevention, diagnosis, and return-to-play decisions. Most fieldmeasurements assess the acceleration or deceleration (hereinafterreferred to collectively as accelerations) experienced by the playerwith accelerometers attached to the helmet. These devices test theimpact to the skull of a player. If an athlete suffers a concussion, forexample, it will be possible to determine if the relative magnitude ofan impact is dangerously high relative to a threshold to which eachsensing device is adjusted, taking into consideration the size andweight of the player.

Another attempt performs testing impact acceleration to the head with anintraoral device which provides acceleration information of the brain invarious sports. Other attempts have been made, however all theseattempts can be costly to implement and fail to provide full informationto professionals in real-time.

Therefore, what is needed is a simple, low-cost device that mayeffectively measure a likelihood of concussion upon a given impact, andwhat grade that concussion may be.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter of this application may involve, in some cases,interrelated products, alternative solutions to a particular problem,and/or a plurality of different uses of a single system or article.

In one aspect, a concussion indicator for attaching to a helmet isprovided. A base defines a first, second, and third chamber, with animpact capsule disposed within each chamber. Each impact capsule isviewable by an observer and is configured to provide a visual indicationupon receiving an acceleration of predetermined rate. An adhesive isdisposed on a rear of the base, allowing the base to be attached to asurface of the helmet. The indicator may be attachable to an inside oroutside of a helmet.

Non-limiting examples of helmets with which the concussion indicator maybe used may include sports helmets such as baseball, football, hockey orlacrosse, recreational helmets such as boating, skiing, motorcycle orbicycle helmets, construction helmets (hard hats) and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides a front view of an embodiment of the concussionindicator.

FIG. 2 provides a side view of an embodiment of the concussion indicator

FIG. 3 provides a rear view of an embodiment of the concussion indicator

FIG. 4 provides a perspective view of an embodiment of the concussionindicator

FIG. 5 provides a top view of an embodiment of the concussion indicator

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of presently preferred embodimentsof the invention and does not represent the only forms in which thepresent invention may be constructed and/or utilized. The descriptionsets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing andoperating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments.

Generally, the present invention concerns a concussion indicator thatmay easily be applied to a helmet of a user. The concussion indicatormay provide an indication or indications relating to impacts that likelycause a concussion. In one embodiment, three separate indications may beprovided from three separate indicating devices, each indicating deviceconfigured to indicate at impacts relating to different concussiongrades. In another embodiment, a single indicator may provide multipleindications for different concussion levels.

The concussion indicator is formed from a base which provides itsstructure and stores its components. Within the base is an impactcapsule or similar indicating device configured to visually or audiblyprovide an indication in the event that it experiences an accelerationof a pre-determined rate. A rear of the base is attachable to a surfacesuch as an interior or exterior of a helmet. As such, the concussionindicator base may be connected to a helmet of a user. Upon a concussiontriggering acceleration, the concussion indicator will display that aconcussion is likely. This display may be seen or heard by observers ifthe indicator is on an exterior of the helmet, and by at least the useror someone who removes the user's helmet if it is on the inside of thehelmet.

The base may be formed of any material capable of being attached to ahelmet and capable of holding the indicating device(s). For example,materials of which the base may be made include, but are not limited to:plastics, composite materials, wood, metals, and the like. In someembodiments, the base may be flexible to allow it to attach to acontoured surface of a helmet.

In one embodiment, the base may be substantially rectangular in shape.The base may define three chambers, each chamber separated from theother by a wall. An impact capsule, as discussed further below, may bepositioned within each of the three chambers. The three impact capsulesmay be configured to trigger at different levels of impact, one at agrade one concussion impact, one at a grade two concussion impact, andthe final one at a grade three concussion impact. The base may furtherdefine an opening or window into each chamber. Through the window, theimpact capsule may be visible. As such, an observer may indicate achange in the impact capsule through the window of the base. Based onthis, the observer would be able to determine if a concussion is likely,and if so, what grade of concussion.

In a further embodiment, each of the three chambers may have indentedregions between them defined by the base. These indented regions may aidin flexibility, and may provide easier distinction between the chambers,among other things. In another embodiment, each chamber may be markedwith a different number: 1 through 3 to indicate concussion gradeindication.

The rear surface of the base may be attachable to a helmet in anymanner. In one embodiment, the rear surface may comprise a quantity ofadhesive; this adhesive may be used to adhere the base to a helmetsurface. In another embodiment, the rear of the base and the helmet mayconnect by a hook and loop fastener system. In still another embodiment,the rear of the base may be clipped into the helmet.

In a particular embodiment, the base may be substantially rectangular inshape. In a further embodiment, the base may be a one inch by one inchsquare, with a quarter inch height.

In one embodiment, the indicating device may be an impact capsule. Theimpact capsule may be any structure capable of being stored by the basethat can provide a visual indication that an acceleration of aparticular rate has been received by the capsule. In one embodiment, theimpact capsule may be formed as a capsule having a membrane divider andtwo chemicals within the capsule separated by the membrane. Upon animpact causing a high enough acceleration, the membrane is designed torupture. Once ruptured, a chemical reaction may occur or a colored dyemay be released, providing a visual indication such as a color change.These membrane divider impact capsules preferably have transparent ortranslucent walls, or a window allowing an observer to see the colorchange within the capsule. In embodiments utilizing multiple impactcapsules, the membrane within each impact capsule may be configured torupture under different acceleration rates, thereby indicating differentlikely concussion grades. These impact capsules may operate regardlessof orientation, and may register an impact in any direction. Therefore,location of the concussion indicator on the helmet is not imperative,thus allowing the concussion indicator to be installed by a user withoutany training.

In a further embodiment, different impact capsules configured to showdifferent levels of impact may have indicative colors. For example, animpact capsule configured to indicate at a grade 1 concussion mayprovide a yellow colored indication, a grade 2 concussion may indicateorange, and a grade 3 concussion may indicate red.

Concussion grades may vary and can be determined in different manners.As such, the impact capsules may be configured to identify concussionsat different acceleration rates in different embodiments. The concussiongrading may be based on different guidelines such as the Cantuguidelines, the Colorado Medical Society guidelines, or the AmericanAcademy of Neurology guidelines. In a particular embodiment, anindicator capsule configured to indicate a grade 1 concussion maytrigger upon receiving an impact causing a 50 g acceleration anindicator for a grade 2 concussion may trigger at 70 g, and an indicatorfor a grade 3 concussion may trigger at 90 g.

In a further embodiment, the chambers and/or impact capsules may becrush resistant. As such, the concussion indicator will be operativeeven under a direct impact. In a specific embodiment, the chamber and/orimpact capsules may be capable of withstanding a crushing impact threetimes greater than the impact causing a grade 3 concussion.

The concussion indicator may be attached to any helmet. Examples ofhelmets may include sports helmets such as baseball, football, hockey orlacrosse, recreational helmets such as boating, skiing, motorcycle orbicycle helmets, construction helmets and the like.

Further, the concussion indicator may be attached to an inside oroutside of the helmet. In many situations, a placement of the indicatoron the outside of a helmet may be desirable because often times thosewith concussions do not appreciate the severity of their situations.This causes many to try to “tough it out.” With the indicator on theoutside, observers may see the indicator and determine the potential forconcussion without the injured party having to be involved.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a front view of an embodiment of the concussionindicator is provided. The concussion indicator is formed from a base 10that provides the structure for the concussion indicator. Three chambers11, 12, and 13 are formed into the base 10. The chambers 11, 12, 13 areisolated from each other by two walls, however in other embodiments; asingle wall may separate the chambers. In this particular embodiment,the chambers 11, 12, 13, have a substantially trapezoidal shaped crosssection. The chambers 11, 12, 13, have a hollow interior portion whereinan impact capsule (not shown) may be secured. Further, in otherembodiments, the chambers may not be separated as is shown in thefigures. Markings 14 are disposed on a front of each chamber 11, 12, 13.These markings 14 indicate three different grades of concussion. Anopening 15 is formed by each chamber 11, 12, 13 at the front. Theopenings 15 allow an observer to see if an impact capsule (not shown)has triggered, causing a change in color and indicating the likelihoodof a concussion for the helmet wearer.

FIG. 2 provides a side view of an embodiment of the concussionindicator. A rear face 20 of the base 10 can be seen. A front wall 22 ofchamber 13 defines a front of the concussion indicator.

FIG. 3 provides a rear cut away view of an embodiment of the concussionindicator. A rear 20 of the base 10 can be seen. An interior of chambers11, 12 and 13 is exposed, showing impact capsules 30, 31 and 32. Theimpact capsules 30, 31, 32 are secured within each chamber, and areconfigured to visually indicate when they are accelerated at a ratelikely to cause a concussion. Capsule 30 may be configured to indicate alikelihood of a grade 1 concussion. Capsule 31 may be configured toindicate a likelihood of a grade 2 concussion. Capsule 32 may beconfigured to indicate a likelihood of a grade 3 concussion.

FIG. 4 provides a perspective view of the concussion indicator. The rearsurface 20 and impact capsules 30, 31, 32 can be seen in the chambers11, 12, 13. In this view, the impact capsules 30, 31, 32 are removablefrom a rear of the base 10. The capsules may be held in position by, forexample, a pressure fitting, snap fitting, or the like. In someembodiments, these impact capsules may be replaceable. In otherembodiments, the rear may be fully or partially removable, and theimpact capsules may be covered by the rear 20 of the base 10.

FIG. 5. provides a top view of an embodiment of the concussionindicator. In this embodiment, a substantially trapezoidal crosssectional shape of each chamber 11, 12, 13 can be seen. The rear 20 ofthe base 10 is configured for attachment to the helmet (not shown).

While several variations of the present invention have been illustratedby way of example in preferred or particular embodiments, it is apparentthat further embodiments could be developed within the spirit and scopeof the present invention, or the inventive concept thereof. However, itis to be expressly understood that such modifications and adaptationsare within the spirit and scope of the present invention, and areinclusive, but not limited to the following appended claims as setforth.

What is claimed is:
 1. A concussion indicator for mounting to a helmetcomprising: a base defining a first chamber, a second chamber, and athird chamber; an adhesive disposed on a rear of the base, the rear ofthe base constructed and arranged to be attached to a surface of thehelmet; a first impact capsule secured within the first chamber, thefirst impact capsule configured to provide a visual indication uponreceiving an impact causing acceleration at a rate likely to cause agrade one concussion; a second impact capsule secured within the secondchamber, the second impact chamber configured to provide a visualindication upon receiving an impact causing an acceleration at a ratelikely to cause a grade two concussion; a third impact capsule securedwithin the third chamber, and configured to provide visual indicationupon receiving an impact causing an acceleration at a rate likely tocause a grade three concussion; wherein the impact capsules are arrangedin ascending indicating order such that the first impact capsule isvisible through the first chamber, wherein the second impact capsule isvisible through the second chamber adjacent to the first chamber, andwherein the third impact capsule is visible through the third chamberadjacent to the second chamber; wherein each of the first, second andthird impact capsules comprises a substantially transparent cylinder,and a membrane within the cylinder separating two compounds, themembrane having a different material composition from the cylinder, thetwo compounds configured to cause a visible change in color when mixed,the membrane configured to rupture upon a predetermined acceleration;wherein each cylinder is crush resistant and capable of withstanding adirect impact approximately three times greater than the impact causingan acceleration at a rate likely to cause a grade three concussion. 2.The concussion indicator for mounting to a helmet of claim 1 wherein thefirst, second, and third impact capsules are removable from the first,second, and third chamber.
 3. The concussion indicator for mounting to ahelmet of claim 2 wherein the rear of the base defines a first openingallowing the first impact capsule to be removed from the first chamber.4. The concussion indicator configured for mounting to a helmet of claim2 wherein the first, second, and third impact capsules are removablefrom the base through the rear of the base.
 5. The concussion indicatorconfigured for mounting to a helmet of claim 4 wherein the rear of thebase defines an opening, the opening being in communication with thefirst chamber, and the first impact capsule being removable through theopening.
 6. The concussion indicator configured for mounting to a helmetof claim 5 wherein the rear of the base defines a second opening, thesecond opening being in communication with the second chamber, and thesecond impact capsule being removable through the second opening.
 7. Theconcussion indicator configured for mounting to a helmet of claim 6wherein the rear of the base defines a third opening, the third openingbeing in communication with the third chamber, and the third impactcapsule being removable through the third opening.
 8. The concussionindicator for mounting to a helmet of claim 1 wherein the first chamberis formed to have a substantially trapezoidal cross section.
 9. Theconcussion indicator for mounting to a helmet of claim 1 wherein thebase further comprises a first wall between the first chamber and thesecond chamber, and a second wall between the second chamber and thirdchamber.
 10. The concussion indicator for mounting to a helmet of claim1 wherein the base is substantially rectangular in shape.
 11. Theconcussion indicator for mounting to a helmet of claim 1 wherein anouter face of the first chamber comprises a marking to indicate a gradeone concussion; wherein an outer face of the second chamber comprises amarking to indicate a grade two concussion; and wherein an outer face ofthe third chamber comprises a marking to indicate a grade threeconcussion.
 12. A helmet having the concussion indicator of claim 1,wherein the concussion indicator is attached to an outer surface of thehelmet by the adhesive disposed on the rear of the base.
 13. Theconcussion indicator configured for mounting to a helmet of claim 1wherein the first chamber defines a window allowing viewing of the firstimpact capsule from a front of the concussion indicator.
 14. Theconcussion indicator configured for mounting to a helmet of claim 13wherein the second chamber defines a second window allowing viewing ofthe second impact capsule.
 15. The concussion indicator configured formounting to a helmet of claim 14 wherein the third chamber defines athird window allowing viewing of the third impact capsule.